A Petit Love Story
by bumble17
Summary: A love affair between Marie Antoinette and Axel von Ferson has been rumored throughout history, but what if it was actually true?
1. Chapter 1 - A sunny morning

_A Petit Love Story_

Chapter 1 – A Sunny Morning

It was a bright and sunny morning at the Petit Trianon in Versailles. Marie Antoinette was gazing out on of the windows below at the gardens, filing her already perfectly manicured nails, and sighed. A nice breakfast had been laid out for her with pastries decorated with jelly and flowers and an assortment of fresh juices. The platter was hardly touched, as usual.

"I think I'd like to take a walk today, near the Grotto" she mentioned to one of her servants in the room. Marie's heart felt heavy for some reason, as it did for the past few weeks of summer. She had written about her strange shifts in mood in her diary the night before but something still couldn't shake it. It was a shame she felt sort of ill, because the weather was so beautiful that day, and all of her renovations for the Trianon were just flowers were only starting to bloom in full color and she couldn't wait to feel the sun baking on her skin. Maybe this daylight will change my mood, she thought.

After being dressed for the day in her light summer clothes, she was called in to the salon where Genevieve was playing a beautiful tune on her harp. Usually, Marie Antoinette loved music and would stop for a moment to pay her appreciation. Today she had woken up in an unpleasant mood. Summertime sadness seemed to have overtaken her almost completely. All night she had tossed and turned in her sleep from a strange dream. It was one of those dreams you just know is uncomfortable – but upon waking can't seem to remember why or what happened.

Her friend, the Duchesse de Polignac who she called Polly for short, burst into the room wearing a bright yellow dress trimmed with white tulle and lace. She was glowing as usual and her cheeks were rosy.

"Ahh, my dear!" she blossomed at Marie, kissing her on the cheek. "It's such a beautiful day! What is the matter with you?"

Marie Antoinette sighed, picking up a glass of water, "I had terrible dreams last night. Oh you know, just…" Polly knew immedieatly what her friend meant. They talked every day, for hours sometimes. She knew Maries secrets, her deepest desires and longings. It had been obvious for weeks.

The Duchesse grabbed the glass of water out of her hand and swiftly turned around to pick up a very large bottle of champagne. The young girl playing the harp stopped, staring at the Duchesse in utter amazement. "Well I know just how to cure that!" She huffed, the usual cure for Polly it seemed.

Marie Antoinette reluctantly accepted the offer and chuckled, "You're crazy, but I love you so much. it's only 10 o'clock in the morning, you silly goose!"

Duchesse replied astoundingly, "And who's stopping us? Wipe that tired look off your face. I'm sick of it. You need sunshine."

"I know" sighed Marie. Every day had been the same since King Louis left for the summer, leaving Marie alone with her palace – wouldn't any girl be happy to have her own palace, along with everything in the world? The two slowly waltzed down the stairs of the vestibule, glimmering in the morning light. Marie Antoinette was handed a giant pink and laced with ribbon parasol as she exited her Trianon by a kind, gentle doorman, as the two ladies exited in to the garden.

Marie Antoinette knew that she should be very happy with her new gift, the Trianon, from her husband, King Louis. In the past few months, it had been everything she could have imagined it to be – a break from the ridiculous etiquette of Versailles, which had always annoyed her very much, and a place of solace to spend time with her friends. But lately she found herself so bored. She had read so many books, Voltaire, Rousseau… which was all enticing but something had seemed to be missing. King Louis was very busy being, well… a king.

"I had the most terrible dream last night." Marie suddenly rememberd. She said to the Duchesse, pausing along their stroll to gaze back at the sat down on a bench. "I remember there was a storm out in the fields, and I was lost in and couldn't find my way back. I called out for Louis, but he was gone. I felt so alone!" Polly sighed, and knew exactly what to say.

"Marie, my dear. We talk about this every day I come to see you and you will never give in. You need to fall in love. You need excitement, romance or whatever!"

"But Louis.." Marie trembled.

The Ducchess shoved champagne down Maries throat, " And seriously, how dare you dream of any thing terrible when we have all of this! Men would die to court you." She waved her hand around at the beautiful Hamlet. In the distance you could hear cows mooing, sheep bahhing and chickens pecking away at their morning feeding.

Duchesse took one look at Marie Antoinette's bowed head, "I know you sister," and took her hand to Marie Antoinette's chin, lifting it up, "I know exactly what you need. How can you be happy with Louis away all this time?" The bright green eyes of the Duchesse pined at Marie Antoinette, who again chuckled.

Marie Antoinette knew that it was obvious to everyone at the court how SO opposite of intimate and passionate her relationship with the King was. She was beginning to think that maybe being away at the Trianon for so long had her in a state of solemn reflection rather than a pleasant escape. That was not her original intention, or the kings, she was sure of that.

"Maybe… you, need to go back to Versailles." The Duchesse stated with a very stern and deep sarcastic voice. Marie Antoinette rolled her eyes and the two burst in to laughter together. That was an absolute last resort for her.

"You know I can't stand that place..." Marie trailed off.

"Exactly!" Replied the Duchesse, "And that is why – you need a party! You need games, laughter! Love… "

With the mention of that word, love… Marie Antoinette again sighed, looking away. She hadn't even felt that before. From all the writing and reading she had down that very hot summer, all she truly wanted was love. She missed her brother, and she missed Austria. She had distracted herself so long with decorations and clothing and music, but maybe Polly was right. It had been a very long time since she threw a party, and with Louis gone…

The Duchesse threw her hands in to the air and twirled around, "Let's invite…." And the Duchesse begin listing off names, speaking to the sky as if she had this plan hatched from the very moment she walked in to the Trianon that Duchesse always had a way to cheer up Marie Antoinette. After all, she was her best friend. And best friends were hard to come by in Versailles. Marie Antoinette looked down at some of the rose bushes, yellow, fuchsia and a light lilac. She began imagining colored themes in her head for the party decorations. It lifted her spirits, if only for a moment.

"We could have a nice dinner, invite the circle. I'm sure King Louis will be much too busy to attend." And with that statement, Polly winked. That made Marie Antoinette smile. Any time her husband was at a party or an event he was only the biggest bore. She pricked one of the rose buds and showed it to the Duchesse, "These came from Provence – so lovely. I was thinking maybe have it made it to salve." The Duchesse squeaked with approval. Polly knew Marie was such a creative and lovely soul who deserved the world. Louis has given her everything, I mean as much as the King of France could – but it still wasn't enough. And everyone at Versailles knew it. Everyone but Marie.

"How can one be sad in a beautiful place like this? I mean, this place is a playground! I mean look at that tower!" The Duchesse exclaimed.

Marie Antoinette gazed across the pond at the Marlborough Tower, which was not yet fully completed but still stunning. She looked at the Duchesse, "Do you want to climb to the top?"

"Yes!" The Duchesse grabbed her hand and the two ran over to the tower, giggling and laughing with joy. Upon reaching the top, the two ladies were huffing and puffing. "I must say it does not seem like such a climb from way over there!" the Duchesse respired, pointing at the bridge they had just ran from. Marie Antoinette was beaming.

Every moment, since the day she had arrived in France, seemed all like a very strange dream. With so many presumptions, expectations, poking and prodding, and a constantly exposed private life, she was emotionally, physically, mentally exhausted. She was hoping that the Trianon would be a place of relaxation for her, to reconnect with the natural world – and she was right. But again, she just felt that missing piece deep down inside of her, heart and soul. "We all know the feeling of when something is missing, you know? – but you just can't pinpoint where." She said to Polly.

"Well, you're in luck. I'm here now, and I am going to plan a little get together for us, tomorrow night, pretty please?"

"Oh well, all right. I'm sure there's no harm in it. Are you sure you can have everyone invited in that short of time?" Marie Antoinette had given in, which did not take much convincing considering how much she loved parties. It would be a nice thing – she hadn't even been to a party in a few weeks. The relaxation time had been lovely, but it was time for a bit more excitement.

"Let's play games! And drink even _more_ champagne!" She exclaimed.

"It sounds perfect." Marie smiled.

The Duchesse cupped her cheek endearingly, "oh we are going to have a great time," she smiled exuberantly, "Oh and by the way, I have a few friends coming down from Sweden tonight. They were planned to stay elsewhere tonight – but perhaps we can all just rendezvous here?" Smirking, she added – "Oh, and I believe you may know one of them."

Marie Antoinette blushed… and she wondered all night who it could be.


	2. Chapter 2 - Axel von Ferson

_Chapter 2 – Axel Ferson_

The night had fallen upon the Trianon. Paper lanterns had been lit all along the lawns, and a large tent with a beautiful gold-stitched tapestry, a lovely gift from one of Marie Antoinette's sisters from Austria, had been draped across to shield out the insects and bugs. Beneath the tent was a dinner table set for a party. Polly was extremely popular and shared most of the Queen's friends, and invited a good lively crowd. Certainly not King Louis, who was off doing God knows what, as most everyone in the Queen's circle put it, especially the Queen herself…was not invited. Even if he was he'd have something better to do.

The sun was only beginning to set, giving a lovely, glowing essence to the air and atmosphere. Marie Antoinette loved that sort of raw beauty – the natural state of the earth in it's "golden hour" she called it.

She was up in her Sliding Mirror Room, a secret room in the Petit Trianon that allowed her privacy, powdering her own face and applying her perfume for the night. Marie loved that she was able to get herself ready at the Trianon rather than being swarmed by servants at Versaiiles. Her hair was braided down her neck with lovely paper mache flowers strung along the end. Marie was ecstatic to finally have guests at her estate again – it had been waayyyyy too long since, and her impending boredom had become a little unbearable. Thank god for friends llike Polly, Marie Antoinette thought to herself.

The Queen bounced down the marble staircase in anticipation for the party, with Polly dragging her hand by her side. The Duchesse had asked for a troupe of musicians to play some of the favorites of the Queen, who of course blushed with joy to some of them – especially the L'innocenze Giustificata sinfonia, a favorite of Maries. It was perfect for the indigo-evening atmosphere on this pleasant night.

And then the guests began to arrive! Some walking up from the palace where they resided, others in horse-drawn carriages from their maisons and estates nearby. Marie loved parties.

( _Note: I am making up many of the guest's names and some of the associations/ideas in order for me to write more freely. This is fiction - I do not intend to stick entirely to historical names/events and keep up with who could have potentially been a real friend of Marie Antoinette's so bear with me. But Duchesse Polignac was real)._

Of course, the Polly's lastet lover Comte de Vaudreuil (who she called Vaudy but he hated being called that) was there with her, as well as many of her and the Queen's friends; the Comte d'Adhemar, who talked extremely loud but told the funniest stories at the dinner parties, as well at the Comte de Guines. The Queen's fashionable, yet jaded friends – Madame de Guemene and Madame Dillon were almost always welcome as guests at the parties of Marie Antoinette. The Duchesse had invited a few interesting people, including a foreigner, the Prince de Ligne, who was a very witty Belgian aristocrat, and was secretly in love with the Queen.

As the Prince arrived at the party he leaned down to kiss her hand, calling her a "white soul". Marie blushed but honestly hated him… One of the Queen's closest friends, Count Eszterhazy was also present – whom she had always felt she could talk to for hours about every detail of her life; she called him Ez for short. "Ez!" She exclaimed when he waltzed up to the front of the tent. Marie knew that just like Polly, Ez could keep even her darkest secrets – and he knew how she also had been feeling that summer so far. The Duchesse had also invited her scandalous sisters-in law, Diane and the Comtesse de Polastron who were extremely promiscuous, but nobody would ever admit it or say anything of it out loud.

Jean Godin des Odonais and the heiress, Isabel had arrived – faraway traveling friends of the Duchesse. She kissed the swiftly on both cheeks, whispering in Jean Godin's ear "Did you bring any party favours?" He slyly replied, "Always party favors for our favorite, Polignac!"

The best news of the night so far was that no where near to be found was Count Mercy – Marie Antoinette's watch-dog of an ambassador for her mother's empire in Austria. He kept a close eye on Marie Antoinette's whereabouts, which would be a little too close for comfort for a night like this. Marie Antoinette hated his constant ranting about her parties, playing games and gambling, and her crazy, rowdy friends! All she wanted was to do what she felt like doing.

A gentle wind had picked up. As the dinner party was processing into the tent, admiring the décor and greeting one another, and Marie Antoinette had felt almost everyone had filed in until a lone pair of footsteps could be heard in the grass, approaching the tent.

"Ferson. What a pleasant surprise." Marie Antoinette blushed, her heart stopped. A tall, handsome man with brown hair and a chiseled face stood before her, with a gentle smile. Her eyes and his locked for what seemed like an eternity.

"It is an honor to join you tonight, Madame." Ferson replied, leaning down to one knee and kissing her hand, bowing his head. Marie blushed even more. The guests all stopped to stare at the sight, and giggled softly. It seemed as if the entire party became silent to stare at the exchange between Ferson and the Queen. Marie could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She looked over at Polly who covered her smile with the white silk gloves she was wearing. Marie knew – this was the person Polly had been talking about.

"Come, come! Sit next to the Queen!" The Duchesse guided Ferson, pulling out one of the chairs to the table. Along with Ferson was his friend and also one of the many part-time lovers of the Duchesse from Sweden, Barrington Beaumont, who hugged and greeted Polly, who seated him next to the young Madame Besenval. "These two young men have traveled all the way from Sweden!" The Duchesse exclaimed, "and they are here with us tonight!" The Duchesse started clapping, so the dinner party clapped along in awe and excitement.

Marie Antoinette gulped, and took her seat next to the very handsome, gentle Ferson. She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, and their eyes locked again. Suddenly, it seemed all of the memories fell in to her from the top of her head. She remembered - the two had met before, first at a masked ball when she was younger, for just a moment when they had exchanged very innocent remarks. She made no intention to let him know who she was – she was just a Dauphine at the time, and had always been a married woman since. But it was obvious to him that she had been the Dauphine upon her leaving – and Ferson was irrevocably infatuated. Second, a short time ago at the palace to honor the soldiers, she had honored him for his service briefly. She had not seen him for a very long time since, but even then it had only felt like yesterday that she had locked eyes with such a soul that felt so utterly unforgettable to her… How curious for him to be here tonight, she thought to herself. How so very very curious, and wonderful. Her head was spinning, and she hadn't even started drinking yet!


End file.
